Mission and Vision
We are a family of God’s adopted children, committed to Jesus and to one another.
We aim to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ by his Word and through his church to the ends of the earth.
Our Priorities:
Gospel Primacy.
The good news of Jesus is “of first importance” (1 Cor 15:3). It’s the only way to enter God’s kingdom. It’s also how we are transformed to be like Christ. If we lose clarity on the gospel, we risk losing everything. That’s why we always strive to make the gospel clear: it is the center of our life together and the basis for everything we do.
Biblical Preaching.
We want God alone to set the narrative and the agendas of our lives, so we look to his truth, not our own opinions. More than that, we know that God’s Word gives us spiritual life and growth. That’s why we are committed to expositional preaching, where a passage of Scripture is explained and applied to our lives. We serve up a steady diet of consecutive expositions, working our way straight through a book of the Bible.
Word-Centered Worship.
Worship is for all of life. And yet it is a unique privilege to “come together as a church” (1 Cor 11:18). When we gather each week, the Bible is the foundation for everything we do. We aim to read the Word, preach the Word, pray the Word, sing the Word, and see the Word (in baptism and the Lord’s Supper).
Congregational Singing.
When we hear each other sing to God and about him, we are encouraged and built up. That’s how God designed it. Since church gatherings are not only for worship but also for mutual edification, church singing should be not only vertical but horizontal: we sing to God, but also to one another (Eph 5:19). So, as we sing theologically rich songs, old and new, the primary instrument is the church’s collective voice.
Meaningful Membership.
When people bow the knee to Jesus as King, what do they do next? They are baptized into the church to live as a committed community (Acts 2:37-47). This forms a clear distinction between the church (full of repenting sinners) and the world (1 Cor 5:9-13). As members, we commit to love one another and to hold each other accountable to live as Christians.
Intentional Discipleship.
We need each other’s help to follow Jesus. And by God’s design, every Christian has the joyful duty to make and mature disciples. No one is a perfect example, but we can say, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ”(1 Cor 11:1). The elders’ job is to equip members to build up the body of Christ as they speak the truth in love (Eph 4:11-16).
Corporate Prayer.
Prayer expresses our need. Genuine Christians pray when no one is watching (Matt 6:5-6). But they also pray together as a church. In fact, most prayer in the New Testament is corporate. That’s why we meet again on the Lord’s Day in the evening as the whole church is invited to come and pray with and for one another.
Church-Centered Mission.
Jesus gave us our marching orders in the Great Commission: to make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18-20). It is our duty and joy to help reach Indianapolis and the world with the gospel. This means equipping members to have personal gospel conversations. It also means sending and supporting gospel partners to plant and strengthen local churches everywhere, especially where Christ is not known.
Why so much emphasis on the local church?
Because God has chosen to display his glory in the church (Eph 2–3). God chose to reconcile natural enemies and making one in Christ. This unified body is the church, and God’s plan is that “through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Eph 3:10). The very existence of the unified church displays God’s wisdom and glory.
Because the Great Commission was given to the church (Matt 28:16–20). The mission (make disciples, baptizing and teaching them) is carried out in and through the church. Disciple-making must not be separated from the local church.
Because where the gospel takes root, churches grow up (Acts 2:37-47). Those who receive the gospel are born into God’s family. The consistent New Testament pattern is gospel mission resulting in gospel communities, i.e., local churches. We must not set out on a church-less mission to make church-less Christians.
Because the church is God’s idea and is guaranteed to succeed (Matt 16:18). God bought the church with his own blood (Acts 20:28). Jesus promised that he will build his church and that the gates of hell will not overcome it (Matt 16:18). When we serve the church, we’re making an eternal investment backed by God’s promises.